Ed Pobur from Highland, MI emailed me this question: "When I am faced with a shot over a bunker with a pin that is placed close to the bunker and my ball is on a hard pan; what the best way to get the ball on the green and hopefully near the hole?"
Thanks for the question Ed.
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This is a shot that we all need in our arsenal but do not often practice. A good round can be interrupted quickly when facing a shot like this.
Let me first explain that a hard pan is hard ground with very little grass which makes it difficult to slide a club under the ball. Most golfers, when faced with this shot, will reach into their bag and pull out the lob wedge; take a deep breath and hope they don?t skull the ball over the green. Inevitably, they will do exactly what they feared would happen, skull the ball over the green and make a big number on the hole and leaving them discouraged and defeated.
Next time you are faced with this shot do not reach for that lob wedge. Instead, grab your seven iron. Now that you have the correct club here is how to play this shot while saving your score on the hole. You want to start by looking at the grass between the bunker and the pin (the target).
Similar to a ?bump and run? shot, you want to fly the ball to the target and let the ground do the rest. Now you are ready to hit the shot. Make sure you lean a little towards the target with the ball position in the middle of your stance. As you?re hitting the shot make sure your hands are in front of the ball when you make contact. Try to fly the ball in the air to a spot between the bunker and the pin (your target) NOT the green. When you do this, here is what will happen. The ball will hit the target then pop in the air and land softly on the green. Do not be scared of hitting it too hard as the grass bank will deaden the ball upon impact allowing it to come out softly. Trust me if you have this shot in the bag you will save valuable strokes during a round of golf.
Thanks for the great question Ed and have a successful golf season.
Bob Krause
Majestic, Fieldstone, Pure Impact Golf Studio